I think that the denial in the dreaded nine months of Bangladesh 1971 is rooted in the idea that what happened was civil war. Elements of denial are going to be asserted in how this was a conflict or disagreement between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Internal disagreements between both wings of Pakistan resulted in the civil war. It might be suggested that since this turned out to be a civil war, it is not really genocide.

I tend to think that what happened in 1971 East Pakistan could be seen as genocide. When political leaders like President Yahya Khan say statements like "Kill three million of them" and when it becomes clear that the intended targets were the "educated, political leaders, and students," the tenets of genocide are being fulfilled. At the same time, the targeting of women in the most brutal of manners, consisting of rape, abductions, and human trafficking, also helps to fulfill the conventions of genocide. The use of death squads in "killing as many as 7,000 people in one night," would also help to meet the standards of genocide. It becomes evident that the targeted form of killing in Bangladesh makes the events of 1971 examples of genocide.